Runaway shopping carts, swinging car doors, people carrying bulky objects, and so on have scratched and dinged cars. Mostly due to negligence. How far away do you park to avoid such risks?

 

I no longer obsess or worry about where I park, like I used to. So far so good.

 

That looks about right for me. I won't let anybody parked directly next to me if possible.

 

I park far enough away where I have to take a taxi to the door.

 

Mostly the same distance. Doesn't matter though, people will STILL park next to me.

Coming up on a year now it was 10pm on a Sunday after a long day at work and the gym I stopped by Safeway to grab a few things. Maybe 150ft between a handful of cars in the parking lot. Wasn't in there 10 minutes when I came out my left rear fender was pushed into the wheel so bad I had to call a tow truck and had a loaner for a week. Of course there was no note and they don't have security cameras and there is a Sheriff's office right in the shopping center too and no one saw anything

 

I park away from cars if possible but I aint walking a mile to get to where im going if there is open spots.

 

I gave up awhile back, just plan on going to a dent removal specialist when needed.

 

I park far as hell, and also look for shade in the hellish texas summers.

 

One thing to keep in mind if the lot has shopping carts. Try to park, if possible, uphill from where most of the shopping carts are. You don't want to be sitting on the bottom of a long slant down if and where unattended carts start rolling. Not only will they tend to roll downhill (especially the ones in good shape where the wheels and bearings haven't corroded and put a drag on them), but, the longer the downgrade, and the fewer obstacles in between your car and them, the faster they will roll, and the more likely they will be to cause an "UH-OH".

 

Working in a retail shopping center for 9+ years now it doesn't matter my car will manage to get a ding somehow, so yeah, I don't think it really matters anymore.

 

I park wherever I find a spot. If it's crowded I'll park far away because it takes less time to just park and walk all the way in rather than circle around looking for the closest spot.

 

I park as far away and uphill if possible. The day I come out and see a carriage against my LS, I will lose my mind.

 

For me, I try to park as far away from any venue I'll be going to in the lot provided. Grocery stores, malls, parking structures, etc. are all places I really hate looking for parking. It's not the furthest spot that intrigues me; it's the space itself. I'll shoot for end spots, spots that sometimes have a single vehicle for parking, or one that has a curb or some sort of median to house a tree or shrubs. I'll never take up more that one space because that's just asking for trouble.

One time a homeless man noticed a patron who didn't put her shopping cart in the allocated cart space they have in the middle of parking lots, and a good gust of wind started blowing it towards my way. He ran away from all his belongings to stop it from gaining speed and hitting my driver side door. When I returned to my F, he told me what happened and I gave him a $20 and some food from Starbucks for his efforts. I was with my gf and she wondered if he was lying. So I pulled the security footage from inside my car, and sure enough we saw him chase down that cart before it hit my car. People helping people out. One doesn't need to be a car enthusiast to know that shopping carts are easily drawn to cars. It surely helps to have some extra eyes on the car when I can't at any given time.

 

I used to be very **** about this. Now that my cars are a few years older, I am not as picky as before. However, I still actively search for a corner spot, not necessarily a farther one. That way, at least one side is protected, and I also get as close to that side as possible

 

Not really park far, but I do find a safe parking spot. No big truck, SUV, or coupe with
Long doors, these are more likely have the door wide open and dig my car. So far so good
And have my fingers crossed.